No Hot Water Heaters over 50 gallons now at Lowes or Home Depot

[ultrarunner]

How do you guys build your own homes without a license?

California is known for being over regulated, yet, even in SF you can be an owner builder and do your own work or sub it out to licensed people.

I've pulled plenty of electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits and completed all the work... the most common for me is service upgrade followed by water heaters...

 

[cmore]

How do you guys build your own homes without a license?
...

We don't live in as big of a nanny state as some or as greedy taxing one.

 

[houstonscott]

If you can investigate hybrid hot water heaters, they clearly use less electricity. HS

 

[Zerk]

If you owned the place ,and saw what people bring back because they don't know what they are doing ,, You would understand..

I'm surprised they don't stop selling to the do it yourselfer's all together.. You install and electrocute ,or blow yourself up, and they are facing a lawsuit for selling you a product you didn't have the knowledge to install.
Not saying everybody don't knowing what they are doing , but there is a large # of people out there that don't know how to install a ''WATER HEATER'' as us plumbers call them..

Sueing somebody for selling me a legal product scares me more then blowing the house up. We should be concerned about a country like that.


My last water heater went 40 years. I probably won't get that out of the new one.

Last year the government told us we have to have more insulation, which will probably make them bigger, which in some cases will cause problems. I was going to pick one of the old ones up for my camp, but never got around to it.

 

[Zerk]

We don't live in as big of a nanny state as some or as greedy taxing one.

Trade unions add to it.

I have heard of some places if you buy the lot you have so long to build on it, cause they want a house to tax. BS, your land.

 

[cat fever]

If you owned the place ,and saw what people bring back because they don't know what they are doing ,, You would understand..

I'm surprised they don't stop selling to the do it yourselfer's all together.. You install and electrocute ,or blow yourself up, and they are facing a lawsuit for selling you a product you didn't have the knowledge to install.
Not saying everybody don't knowing what they are doing , but there is a large # of people out there that don't know how to install a ''WATER HEATER'' as us plumbers call them..

To add to Kenmac;
I have been on service calls (plumbing) where people actually tried to use silicone to "glue" copper pipe together. Many people should not attempt mechanical type repairs when they clearly have no idea what they are even doing.

 

[Zerk]

I worked doing plumbing and electrical, and agree there are alot of hacks. But it is still a free country. If they have to call a pro in, it is their problem.

 

[farmer2009]

They also asked me to fill out plumbing permit number and the name of the plumber and my contact info. I filled out my contact info so the handwriting may be on the wall down the road for we DIY types at least in KY.

I've got to remember to stay out of KY.

Not all of KY is like that. Only the bigger cities and their counties. I can still go in and buy a water heater and sign a waiver to get it. Our county requires a septic and electrical inspection only to have permanent power turned on.

 

[Bird]

To add to Kenmac;
I have been on service calls (plumbing) where people actually tried to use silicone to "glue" copper pipe together. Many people should not attempt mechanical type repairs when they clearly have no idea what they are even doing.

One of my nieces once called me to ask if I could fix a plumbing leak. It actually was a fairly simple matter of sweating copper pipe, but her husband had been told you have to heat it, so he'd been trying (unsuccessfully, of course) to do it kitchen matches as his heat source.:laughing:

 

[Bird]

Last April (4/3/2015 in fact) I had our 50 gallon water heater replaced. Ours is in a closet in the hall in the middle of the house, so you can imagine the mess a leak would have caused. We were actually not having any problem with the old water heater, but it was installed in 1991 when the house was built, so being 24 years old, I decided to not push our luck any further. In the past, I've replaced one water heater in a house and two in mobile homes, but this time I spent the money to let a professional do it, and our city does require pulling a permit and having an inspection after installation. This was the first I'd heard of such, but now they include a "Flood Stop" valve that shuts off the water if a leak should get to the sensor in the pan they put under the water heater.